B.S.'ing a whole lot of nothing and a little bit of everything

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Saul Williams is a force of nature. A prolific and prophetic poet who emerged onto the slam poetry scene in the late nineties. He was the star of the films Slam and Today, was the lead in the Broadway musical Holler If you Hear Me, has released five records and six books of poetry. His spoken word performances are some of the most powerful that I have ever witnessed and I highly suggest you enjoy more of his work here.

She

We sleepIn the same houseBut it is weWho have aLong distance relationship

To aimIs to take oneself too seriouslyBy focusing without instead of withinre arrange and re memberAim…I amThe right letters are thereIt’s the wrong composition…

The above excerpt from Saul’s slam masterpiece She. This is some of my favorite writing of all time. He is one of the few authors who can still send a shiver down my spine with every time I read his work. This poem explores the plethora of thoughts, emotions and feeling experienced during the relationship with the mother of his son. With vivacious and poignant imagery he shows how two people sometimes no longer fit together. This is one of his finest and if you enjoyed the above sample, I hope you will seek out his other work. There is truly a plethora of greatness authored by Saul Williams.

Cody Jemes is the co-host of the Bored Shenanigans podcast available via iTunes and Stitcher. See more of his articles here. Also enjoy his poetry by downloading his latest e-book here. Be sure to follow Bored Shenanigans on Twitter or Facebook.

Attila The Stockbroker is my absolute favorite poet of all time. A punk poet and folk singer who has written seven books of poetry released forty albums and performed over three thousand concerts. He has toured nonstop for thirty-five years and has maintained a DIY attitude his entire career. Arguments Yard, his autobiography came out last year and if you need some sharp-tongued, high energy social surrealist poetry in your life I highly suggest you check out his work here.

USE OF ENGLISH The phrase ‘politically correct’is not at all what you’d expect.But how has it been hijacked so?I’m going to tell you, ‘cos I know. You’d think it should mean kind and smartRadical and stout of heartA way of living decently.Well, so it did, till recently.And then some cringing, nerdy divsSweaty, misogynistic spivsSad, halitosis-ridden hacksall wearing lager-stained old macswith spots and pustules and split endsand absolutely zero friends(Yes, living, breathing running sores:The right wing press’s abject whores)Were all told, by their corporate chiefsTo rubbish decent folks’ beliefsTo label with the phrase ‘P.C’All that makes sense to you and meAnd write off our progressive past.Their articles came thick and fastThe editors gladly received themand loads of idiots believed them.You’ll find that most who use the termWill only do so to affirmSad, bigoted, outdated viewsthey’ve swallowed via the Murdoch news.

I giggled aloud whilst reading this poem for the first time. The line hovered between linguistic elegance and hateful bile is breathtaking. Attila’s use of a simple rhyme scheme adds a bit of irony and taste that wouldn’t be present if this work was written in free verse. He cleanly states his views and challenges the reader to step above what is socially acceptable. Very on point, Attila drives his point home in his classic style. If you enjoyed the above, I highly suggest delving deeper into his works.

Cody Jemes is the co-host of the Bored Shenanigans podcast available via iTunes and Stitcher. See more of his articles here. Also enjoy his poetry by downloading his latest e-book here. Be sure to follow Bored Shenanigans on Twitter or Facebook.